Walson-Jack: Garlands for a Retiring Head of Service

Olawale Ajimotokan

The effervescent public service career of Mrs Didi Esther Walson-Jack, Officer of the Order of the Niger (OON) and Member of the National Institute (mni), came to a glorious end on August 27, 2026, when she retired as the Head of Civil Service of the Federation.

The presentation of her tow books, “I planted: A Memoir of Purposeful Service” and “Beyond the Mandate: A Memoir on Leadership, Legacy and Labour of Public Service” at Abuja Continental Hotel, attracted several dignitaries, including President Bola Tinubu, who was represented by Minister of Innovation, Science and Technology, Kingsley Ude.

Former President Goodluck Jonathan and his wife, Patience; former First Lady, Mrs Ajoke Mohammed, Governor of Bornu State, Babagana Zulum, Governor Douye Diri of Bayelsa State, Deputy Governor of Rivers State, Prof Ngozi Odu, National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, Minister of Women Affairs, Imaan Sulaiman-Ibrahim, former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha and former Head of Service of the Federation, Bukar Goni Aji.

Some royal fathers, public policy analysts and business leaders, including Chairman of the Federal Civil Service Commission, Prof Tunji Olaopa and Chairman of Access Bank Holdings, Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede among others, were also in attendance.

The book presentation committee was chaired by Zacchaeus Adedeji, the Chairman of the Nigeria Revenue Service, while the books were reviewed by former DG of Bureau of Public Service Reforms, Dr Joe Abah.

Walson-Jack, the third woman in succession to serve as the head of civil service of the federation, began her public service career as a lawyer in the Rivers State Civil Service in 1992. Following the creation of Bayelsa State in 1996, she transferred to the new state civil service, where she rose to Solicitor-General and Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Justice.

At various times, she also served as Deputy Chief of Staff and Chief of Staff to the Governor. In 2009, she moved to the Federal Civil Service, rising to Permanent Secretary in 2017 and serving across six ministries.

In just two years in office as Head of Service of the Federation, Walson-Jack championed transformative reforms across all the six pillars of the Federal Civil Service Strategy and Implementation Plan 2021-2025 (FCSSIP 25) while strengthening the critical enablers.

The numbers of the reforms that took shape under her tenure are quite impressive making her one of the most outstanding heads of service in history.

Some of the results at a glance include increasing the numbers of MDAs on digitalized work processes from three to 38, expansion of access to official government email from fewer than 20,000 officers in August 2024 to more than 116,00 active accounts by August 2026, and transiting the Office of Head of Service of the Federation into the integrated 1Gov Cloud environment, including GovMail, inMail, GovDrive and GovConference.

Under Walson-Jack, 15,800 civil servants were trained in digital skills, while she also pioneered service wide GPT that introduced an AI-enabled knowledge platform that provides faster access to public service rules, circulars, policies and institutional information.

The welfare of the workforce also formed the bedrock of her innovations as she secured 100 per cent as annual emoluments as exit benefit for retiring officers, N10 billion housing loan intervention to expand access to affordable home ownership for employees under the Federal Government Staff Housing Loans Board, approval of 100 per cent duty tour allowance for officers in approved capacity-development programmes at MDIs, securing 40 per cent peculiar allowance increase across CONPSS and CONRAISS, completion of Personnel Audit and Skill Gap Analysis of over 90,000 officers, and introduction of 100 electric buses that provided access to safer, more reliable and affordable transportation for officers.

Other institutional reforms and achievement ascribed to Walson-Jack included advanced service-wide HR professionalization through a National HR Competency Framework, establishment of a dedicated mechanism for engagement with former heads of civil service of the federation, creation of regional liaison office and the reintroduction of the civil service anthem.

Many of the guests, including President Tinubu and former President Jonathan, flattered Walson-Jack for her record of excellence.

Tinubu described her as a remarkable public servant, who put up a career of institutional leadership, as well as a legacy consciously built in the service of the nation.

He said Walson-Jack was reformer, who understood the responsibility of the office of the head of service of the civil service of the federation and as someone, who came into the office with a clear understanding that the civil service must continuously evolve if it is to meet the demands of a rapidly changing Nigeria and an increasingly complex world.

“Walson-Jack occupies particularly distinguished place in our public administration history. She has served at both the state and federal levels and has risen to Nigeria’s topmost bureaucrat as the head of the civil service of the Federation, very few public servants have had the breadth of experience, responsibility, and perspective that her journey presents. What makes today’s occasion even more remarkable is that while carrying the enormous responsibilities of her office, she has found the time and discipline to reflect, write, and document her experiences. That is not a small achievement by any means. It speaks to a woman who understands that public service is not only about what we do while in office, but also about what we leave behind for those that come after us,” Tinubu said.

Also, Jonathan thanked President Tinubu for an historic appointment of an indigene of Bayelsa State to the position of the nation’s top civil service.

He said the position was attained on merit and not through rotation and urged leaders to prioritise competence and character when appointing people into positions of responsibility.

“Every nation, every state, even institutions like the civil service, if integrity and merit are not considered, especially in leadership, then you cannot go anywhere. You must use the right people for the right thing,” Jonathan said.

In his testimony, the National Security Adviser, Ribadu, who was a course mate with Walson-Jack at the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS), Jos, 18 years ago, described the former Head of Service as a great woman.

“She was our baby, the youngest at the course in 2008. If you come close to her, you must respect her. If you relate with her, you must honour her. If by any chance you have anything to do with her, you must give her dignity and honour. She carries herself extremely well.

“The one year relating with her made me to believe that indeed, in her, something is going to happen. I was not surprised when eventually, with this opportunity to be part of this government, you were announced as the head of service. And you became my sitting mate in the cabinet, again. But I believe this is not the end of the story for you. This is one chapter and another one is going to open,” Ribadu said.

Minister of Women Affairs Imaan Sulaima-Ibrahim expressed hope that many women will get to the pinnacle because of Walson-Jack, whom she described as someone who loved excellence and got the ministers together in a special way without taking sides.

Former Head of Service, Buka Goni Aji, recalled how several years ago, Walson-Jack dazzled the panel of the permanent secretary selecting committee with her sheer brilliance and ability to control speech.

In same manner, former Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) Boss Mustapha, likened Walson-Jack and her predecessors Dr Folasade Yemi-Esan and Mrs Ekamen Oyo-Ita as the finest of women the country has produced. He said the three women heads of service were very consistent, focused, extremely gentle and very positive.